Sep 01

#LOTD2013: November Playlist

LOTD Nov 13The latest playlist to (finally) get a work-up in my Lyric-of-the-Day project is from November 2013. Here’s that month’s #LOTD2013 playlist (find the Spotify playlist I’ve created from these lyrics linked at the end of the post or on the clickable image at right), with some brief explanations (in italics) for a number of the lyrics.

Remember, if you want to see the lyrics as they pop up daily, just give me a follow on Twitter!

  • “In your head they’re still fighting/With their tanks and their bombs/And their bombs and their guns” #Cranberries “Zombie” #LOTD2013 11/1
  • “That part of me left yesterday/The heart of me is strong today/No regrets I’m blessed to say” #TI #JT “Dead And Gone” #LOTD2013 11/2
  • “She’s got wonderful eyes/And a risque mouth/And when i ask her before/She said she’s holding out” #TheCars “Let’s Go” #LOTD2013 11/3
  • “Want my opinion? I’d give you 10-to-1/Give me a million, a franchise on fun” #ABC “How To Be A Millionaire” #LOTD2013 11/4
  • “Wanted something better/Wished for something new/Wanted something beautiful/Wished for something true” #FooFighters “Wheels” #LOTD2013 11/5
  • “I’ll be fine/I’ll be waiting patiently/Till you see the signs/And come running to my open arms” #DepecheMode “It’s No Good” #LOTD2013 11/6
  • “Law don’t mean shit if you got the right friends/That’s how the country’s run” #DeadKennedys “I Fought the Law (And I Won)” #LOTD2013 11/7 (The first in a string of Bay Area-tinged lyrics to celebrate the annual USC Bay Area weekender for Saturday’s game at Berkeley.)
  • “Walking down to Market St./Feeling my heart skip a beat/To see someone who looks like you” #ChrisIsaak “San Francisco Days” #LOTD2013 11/8
  • “Living and dying and the stories that are true/Secret to a good life is knowing when you’re through” #Rancid “Time Bomb” #LOTD2013 11/9
  • “Watching the ships roll in/Then I watch them roll away again, yeah” #OtisRedding “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” #LOTD2013 11/10 (Spent some nice time sitting watching boats on the bay near the Embarcadero in San Francisco.)
  • “Put a gun in my hand & you hide from my eyes/You turn and run farther when the fast bullets fly” #BobDylan “Masters Of War” #LOTD2013 11/11 (Happy Veterans’ Day, not necessarily to those who’ve often sent those soldiers rather cynically into questionable battles.)
  • “Changing clothes/Now he’s got ventilated slacks/Bouncing off the walls/Mr. Jones is back” #TalkingHeads “Mr. Jones” #LOTD2013 11/12
  • “Mike D come on and get it on y’all/Talking sh*t about a mile a minute” #BeastieBoys “B-Boys Makin With The Freak Freak” #LOTD2013 11/13
  • “Well you’re dirty and sweet/Clad in black/Don’t look back/And I love you” #TRex “Bang A Gong” #LOTD2013 11/14
  • “There’s a king on a throne with his eyes torn out/There’s a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt” #Police “King Of Pain” #LOTD2013 11/15
  • “I said, ‘Hey, what’s your name?/Maybe we can see things the same?'” #Free “All Right Now” #LOTD2013 11/16 #USC#BeatTheFarm (USC 20, Stanford 17. Best moment of the season for the Trojans. Why not celebrate with a rousing rendition of the Cardinal’s “fight song,” which also stands in as the USC band’s song when the Trojans force a turnover.)
  • “When we bend a new corner/I feel like a sweepstake winner” #BobMarley “Satisfy My Soul” #LOTD2013 11/17
  • “Why don’t you tell it like it is/Why don’t you tell it like it really is/Before you go on home” #Stereophonics “Mr. Writer” #LOTD2013 11/18
  • “Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner/But he knew it wouldn’t last” #TheBeatles “Get Back” #LOTD2013 11/19
  • “I could talk all night/My mind goes sleepwalking/While I’m putting the world to right” #ElvisCostello “Oliver’s Army” #LOTD2013 11/20
  • “So never mind the darkness/We still can find a way/’Cause nothin’ lasts forever/Even cold …” “NovemberRain” #GunsNRoses #LOTD2013 11/21 (Cliche, but I had to wait 2/3 of the month for some rain in order to use it!)
  • “Still I have the warmth of the sun/Within me tonight” #BeachBoys “The Warmth Of The Sun” #LOTD2013 11/22 #JFK #JFK50 (Brian Wilson and Mike Love began writing the song early on the morning of 11/22/63 and finished it that afternoon following the news of JFK’s assassination.)
  • “Had to back up off it & sit my cup down/Tanqueray & chronic yeah I’m f*cked up now” #SnoopDogg “Gin & Juice” #LOTD2013 11/23 #Doggystyle20
  • “You’re still alive she said/Do I deserve to be/Is that the question/And if so/Who answers, who answers” #PearlJam “Alive” #LOTD2013 11/24 (One of my favorite lyrics ever. Special to see it live at the L.A. Sports Arena on this night.)
  • “You don’t have to answer me/You don’t have to call me back” #X “Your Phone’s Off The Hook But You’re Not” #LOTD2013 11/25
  • “Can’t get it outta my head/Miss her, kiss her, love her/Wrong move, you’re dead” #BellBivDevoe “Poison” #LOTD2013 11/26 (Impressive cover by Justin Timberlake at his Staples Center show on this fine evening.)
  • “Your fingers weave quick minarets/Speak in secret alphabets/I light another cigarette/Learn to forget” #Doors “Soul Kitchen” #LOTD2013 11/27
  • “Today my world it smiles/Your hand in mine we walk the miles/Thanks to you it will be done” #LedZeppelin “Thank You” #LOTD2013 11/28 (Happy Thanksgiving!)
  • “All the people/So many people/They all go hand in hand/Hand in hand through their parklife” #Blur “Parklife” #LOTD2013 11/29
  • “Palm trees are candles in the murder wind/So many lives are on the breeze” #BadReligion “Los Angeles Is Burning” #LOTD2013 11/30 (A salute to the annual USC-UCLA football game. And, unfortunately in 2013, its outcome.)

Here’s the Spotify playlist if you’d like to listen along: #LOTD2013: November

Dec 07

Another Sign of Aging … But a Good Reason to Share Music!

I woke up to the news of the latest inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this morning. For years, now the Hall has been honoring some of my all time favorite musical acts, but today’s group of inductees (you can see them all here) definitely hit home. For the first time, three of the acts that were so honored are truly of, by and for my generation of music fans. And I am a big fan of all three.

I guess it makes sense. After all, 40 today means 15 in 1986: the year all of these groups first hit any kind of recognition. At the same time, two of the three call Los Angeles home (and the third lived and recorded in Los Angeles during one of their most fruitful periods, which also coincided with my college years).

The induction of the Beastie Boys, Guns ‘N Roses and the Red Hot Chili Peppers is definitely a clear sign of transition into a different generation for the RNRHOF. Here are two songs from each band: one representing a “favorite” among their hit songs and the other representing a “favorite” among their deeper “album cuts.” Enjoy! (And, if you’re a fan, too, share yours!)

Beastie Boys

Perhaps the greatest video of the MTV music era: Sabotage

THE best Beastie Boys song: Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun

Guns ‘N Roses

Guitar lessons available here: Sweet Child O’ Mine

Who knew murder could sound so catchy? Used to Love Her

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Two things – great treadmill song; mentions Pleaides (hello Fullerton High School): Can’t Stop

The greatest (only?) song about the Lakers’ greatest era, from some big fans: Magic Johnson